NCJ Number
118803
Date Published
1988
Length
837 pages
Annotation
This text examines the criminal justice system's response to various aspects of drug abuse, with attention to court decisions bearing upon the nature and enforcement of drug laws.
Abstract
After an introductory overview of the nature of drug abuse and the criminal justice system's response to it, a chapter provides a general profile of drug addiction and details the characteristics of various classes of controlled substances. For each drug category, the chapter describes the drugs and their effects, the nature and extent of abuse, and a historical perspective. A chapter on the legal classifications of drugs reviews the Federal Controlled Substances Act, considers the "rational basis" test for the constitutionality of criminalizing marijuana, discusses the administrative classification of methaqualone, and assesses the Federal Government's strategy for handling controls on designer drugs. After a chapter examines issues in establishing the identity of drugs as evidence in drug cases, the subsequent chapter addresses aspects of criminal responsibility for drug abuse and drug-related crimes. Other chapters discuss elements of the offense of drug possession as they relate to the defense and prosecution of such a charge, elements of drug trafficking offenses, constitutional limits on the criminal sanctioning of drug-related behaviors, police legal limitations in enforcing drug laws, sentencing alternatives for drug offenses, and drug treatment alternatives. Appended selected provisions of the Federal Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, current schedules of controlled substances, and subject index.